Straight Shooter: Great Advice in the WaPo

By Lt Col P

Stephen Hunter, ace film critic of the WaPo and noted firearms enthusiast, has written the best-- THE BEST-- gun article yet in that paper, surpassing his own paean to the Winchester 30-30.

You want the gun to be second nature, its mechanics a confidence-building given. If you're worried about the gun, you will not dominate the upcoming transaction... You must master sound marksmanship fundamentals. Sight, picture, hold, press. Maximize recoil control, follow through (as in any sport) and most important, from your practice, believe in yourself and your entitlement to life and property. Know how to manipulate, change hands, reload, deal with jams. Learn the gun.

Good Lord, how did he get that past the editors?

Read the whole thing, read it again, pass it around to friends and family, especially those on the other side of the argument. Save it, print it out, frame it.

(And yes, the hand in the picture has finger on trigger. Someone in the comments nailed it.)

July 18, 2008 04:13 PM Firearms

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Comments

His intro is a little flawed, as you can only own a revolver in D.C. at the moment. Heller (yes, THAT Heller) was denied his permit because it was for a semi-automatic handgun. According to the D.C. police's interpretation of...not sure exactly what law or regulation, as they never really stated which one, but according to their interpretation of something any gun that "feeds from the bottom" is outlawed because it is grouped in with machine guns.

Yeah, I was speechless too.

Sorry for the off topic comment, the piece you reference is very good.

Mike · July 18, 2008 08:55 PM

Tried this the other day but was denied...

My BR liked the article because the late Jeff Cooper was quoted. 'Course, the picture showed a Rule 2 violation.

All-in-all it was an outstanding article short of the fact that a few of the larger caliber revolvers (Ruger Alaskan) were left out...

bullnav · July 22, 2008 02:57 PM

Maybe the best article from WaPo on guns, but certainly not a great gun article in my book.
The questions submitted by readers seemed contrived and possible done by Hunter himself.
His answers for the handwringers did not cut to the chase enough for me. Telling the one lady "You'll never get over it (fear of guns in the home)" was stupid. Lots of people have gotten over it. The goal of gun advocates should be to help people get over there baseless fears and deal in reality.
Right after that he perpetuates one of the most hyped myths of the gun control crowd: "Yes, it happens that guns kill children." Again, stupid. You and I realize that it is a simple case of semantics but imagine what that sounds like to the person he is writing to "Yes, your gun may kill your child."
Third, he says that by exposing children to guns, they will be less likely to be "fascinated". I'm living proof that won't work. Instead, simply teaching and enforcing the rules works just fine.
In his rule #4 explanation he states "bullets do insane things that no Caltech grad could predict". Sensationalistic caca. Bullets obey the laws of physics, period. The greater our understanding of the ballistic and terminal ballistic qualities of the projectile and our intended target and it's background, the better we can accurately predict an outcome. The "insanity" is a convenient way of saying "I did not intend to shoot the 4 people behind this purse snatcher but I didn't realize .30-06 AP ammo would behave that way. It's just one of those "insane" bullets." Learn your weapon and it's ammo. Learn your area. Shoot or research shootings in comparable environments. Bullets behave with a predictability that a reasonable person can grasp.
During his discussion of revolvers, I re-read the following quote several times and I still have no idea what it means:
"...it can be left at rest in a non-volatile situation..." Huh?
Besides, he should have taken the opportunity to hammer DC on it's stupid decision to ban autos. Instead, he attempts to mollify the residents by saying that a revolver isn't that bad.
Finally, I am a tried and true JMB fan and even I think he is laying the Zen bit one a bit thick for noobs.
Hunter is a good writer...sometimes. But, this is not an example of a well thought out piece.
My 2 cents worth.
Chet

Chet · July 24, 2008 09:25 AM